The latest works of this Canadian artist are clearly identified by her portraits of women with comic "skin". In this article we will examine the work of this artist.
Her series "Super Hero Cages" has taken Sandra Chevrier to the elite of nowadays trends. She is in. And the thing is that Sandra knows how to perfectly combine the aesthetic of the feminine beauty with the super hero comic world like no one does. The works that belong to this series are of an undeniable beauty, they are classy and they send a message. We can find multiple creations of this artist in many mediums, since she has developed her works using mixed media as well as limited edition printing in giclées and screenprints.
All "Les cages" works show us beautiful women wrapped in comic cartoons of Batman, Superman, Green Lantern… and the message appears to be clear: with the aesthetic demands placed on women today, it seems necessary to do miracles in order to fit in the beauty standards of our society and to have super powers to achieve these expectations.
But if we look a bit further we see that what the artist wants to transmit is not just that. Synonyms for cages could be jail, box, enclosure. These women can be found locked up behind the bars that we can all end up trapped in, men and women, and those are the bars of our own self-demands; our own complexes can restrict ourselves to a point where we don’t fulfil the dreams we aspire to. We all have an inner beauty that can be locked up behind the doors of our own emotions.
Despite the theme of her work that many have tagged as feminist, this is not the speech that Sandra Chevrier wants to give. Message is universal; it is just that she feels more comfortable expressing her emotion through the feminine figure, through the expressions of her eyes, the sensuality of her lips or the delicate touch of her hands. Men have the same boundaries and frontiers as women do and the fact that she likes better to present women in her works is no other than practice, instinct, she is just better at portraying female bodies.
It is interesting to know also the concept that Sandra Chevrier has about aesthetics. Very young he knew that he had an ability to create beautiful images. She is aware that the beauty of the images she creates is the first thing that captures the viewer. As in everyday life, we all tend to focus first on what attracts us, what we like. That's where she uses her "hook" to catch us, but if the rest of the work does not count and does not transmit, the work would fall into oblivion and would not make a difference.
The work of this artist is deep, spiritual, full of emotions. In the series prior to "Les cages", called "Drames en couleur" Sandra represented religious elements such as Buddhas, totems or goddesses along with architectural elements or objects of modern society and wild animals. The vivid colors of these works capture, once again, our attention to lead us to an inner personal reflection. The aesthetic balance between these elements invites us to meditate on how new technologies and everyday consumerism affect us and how they antagonize, at times, our cultural values, represented iconographically by theological elements, and with our most instinctive feelings and emotions. As in the works of this series, each of us tries to keep a balance according to what is most important to us, a balance between the material, the divine or the natural.
